One of the advantages of living in Europe, and in The Netherlands especially, is that you can just hop on over to another country for the day. Last week I went to Antwerp, Belgium for the day and I just really enjoyed myself. Yes, the weather was gorgeous, which always helps for a good experience. But I discovered so many lovely new places!
In één dag open en neer met de trein naar Antwerpen. Dan moest ik zeker vroeg op? Viel wel mee. Ik pakte de trein in Utrecht om kwart over 8 's ochtends en precies 2 uur later stapte ik uit op het mooie Antwerpen Centraal. Dan gaan de meeste leuke cafés net open en even wat later zijn ook alle winkels wel open.

In one day to Antwerp and back from Utrecht. That must've meant an early start, right? Well, not really not be honest. I took the train at quarter past eight on Utrecht central station and exactly 2 hours later I arrived at the beautiful station of Antwerp. Most cafés are open by then, and most shops open their doors around 11am. So it's a perfect time to start exploring the city.

I took a guided tour with street art aficionado Tim, who one day discovered some great murals cycling to work. He started taking photos of these works, came into contact with some of the artists and decided to take a different route to work every day to discover new art. Now, he offers guided tours and has developed a free app so you can look for street art yourself in Antwerp. This way I discovered some new parts of the centre of Antwerpen (which I thought I knew pretty well). But there are also lesser known parts of Antwerp to discover with this app.
Lunch werd geserveerd in de Nationalestraat, één van mijn favoriete straten in Antwerpen. Ik schoof aan bij STAY, een echte concept store: kleding, tassen en sieraden voorin de winkel en hebbedingetjes en een paar knusse tafeltjes achterin de zaak. Je kunt hier 's ochtends fijn ontbijten, maar ook voor de koffie en lunch is het een leuke plek. Ik genoot er in ieder geval van fijne vegetarische broodjes en veel water (want, warm!).

Lunch was served in Nationalestraat, one of my favourite streets in Antwerp as it's so full of amazing boutiques and creative stores. There was a table waiting at STAY, such a fun concept store. There are clothes, jewelery and bags in the front of the stores, and all kind of fun kitchen and bath stuff in the back. In the back you can also find a couple of snug tables. STAY is a good place for breakfast and coffee, though I really enjoyed the vegetarian sandwiches I had there for lunch (accompanied by lots of water as it was so hot!).
's Middags wandelde ik langs het onlangs opnieuw geopende Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen in 't Zuid, wat ook al zo'n leuke buurt is. Toen ik het museum jaren terug bezocht, vond ik het nogal kaal. Maar nu, na een uitgebreide verbouwing, is het er knusser en leuker ingedeeld. Beneden is een bescheiden deel van de permanente collectie tentoongesteld en op de bovenverdiepingen is ruimte voor de tijdelijke expo's. Goede trekpleister is het café helemaal bovenin met een dakterras (inclusief fijn uitzicht over de wijk).

In the afternoon I visited the recently reopened Museum of Contemporary Art in neighborhood 't Zuid. When visiting the museum years ago I though it was a bit sparse, but now (after extensive renovation) they've come up with a much nicer concept. The museum feels more homely and the spaces are not zo scary large and white anymore. On the ground floor you'll find pieces of the main collection, on the top floors there are temporary exhibitions. But the real gem is the café with an amazing roof terrace on the top floor (including excellent views over Antwerp).
Gelukkig had ik vervolgens nog wel even de tijd om wat leuke winkels binnen te wippen, op weg terug naar het centrum. Ik wandelde door de Kloosterstraat, waar je echt de leukste shops vindt (schoenen van Noé mensen, zalig). Ik liep even binnen bij Rewinddesign waar veel met gerecycled materiaal wordt gewerkt, allemaal leuke dingen en mooie planten. Like like. Daarnaast zit trouwens YAY een winkel waar je allemaal hippe spullen voor een feestje kunt kopen, alleen al vanwege de naam wilde ik de winkel even noemen.

Lucky for me I had some time left to hop into some shops, before I had to catch my train back to The Netherlands. I wandered back to the city centre along Kloosterstraat where many fun shops are (I love Noé shoes!). I took a look at the recycled design items and plants over at Rewinddesign. Next doors is YAY, a concept store completely dedicated to hip items you need to throw a party. Just the name alone makes it worth the mention, it's briliant.

But I simply had to visit one of the yarn shops on Nationalestraat. I didn't have time to walk to Julijas, so hopped into the Vertias workshop where I bought a ball of Garbenia. It's a huge ball, apparently I can knit one t-shirt out of it. Yes. Knit.

Anyway, it's not like I haven't beed to Antwerp before (I think this must've been at least my 20th or so time to Antwerp, I used to live so closeby when I was younger). So I have made a Creative Travel Guide Antwerp with all the fun creative addresses you need. And if you want to explore Belgium a little more, I have some stories about Bruges and Brussels for you as well.